SPARTANBURG Authentic Josh Norman Jersey , S.C. (AP) — For the first time since 2010, the Carolina Panthers have a quarterback battle on their hands heading into the preseason — at least when it comes to who’ll backup 2015 league MVP Cam Newton.
Since Newton entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in 2011, Panthers coach Ron Rivera has always had veteran Derek Anderson to fall back on as a security blanket. But the Panthers opted not to re-sign the 35-year Anderson this offseason, opening the battle for the No. 2 spot between two young QBs who have attempted one career pass between them.
Garrett Gilbert and Taylor Heinicke will begin that battle in earnest on Thursday night when the Panthers open the preseason in Buffalo against the Bills.
Rivera said Gilbert will be the first off the bench and will get some reps with the first team. Heinicke will be the third quarterback for this game, although he didn’t rule out that the QB rotation could change the following week.
“I’m really curious to watch them and see how they both do, I really am,” Rivera said. “… We are going to try to get those guys as many snaps as we can the next few weeks so we can make a good decision.”
Rivera said he’ll try to split reps as equally as possible between the two in the preseason.
“We would like to feel really good about who the guy is going to be going into the last preseason game so he can get the bulk of the work,” Rivera said. “We will give them both some opportunities with the twos and the threes and create some situations where they can get some time with the ones.”
Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said he likes what he’s seen from both young QBs in training camp.
“They are two really smart kids and can spin it really well,” Olsen said. “Of course, losing a guy like D.A. (Anderson) is tough for a lot of reasons because of who he was in the locker room for us, but we are moving in another direction.”
Ironically, both Gilbert and Heinicke have spent time in New England behind Tom Brady Authentic Mike Evans Jersey , although neither was able to stick with the Patriots.
Gilbert was drafted in the sixth round by the Rams in 2014 and spent time with the Patriots, Lions and Raiders before serving as Carolina’s third-string quarterback last season. However, he’s never played in a regular season game.
“You can see the confidence with how he gets up and handles things right now,” Rivera said. “He has a strong arm and we know that. So now, it’s about knowing the offense, and what we’re trying to do and then taking it and translating.”
Heinicke has a leg up on Gilbert in that area since he’s familiar with coordinator Norv Turner’s offensive system having spent two years working under him with the Minnesota Vikings.
“He has shown us he has a good arm and good decision maker and he’s athletic as well,” Rivera said.
Gilbert said he’s not worried about the competition at this point, saying his goal is to “develop my skills and be the best quarterback for this team I can possibly be.”
NOTES: Rivera said ideally he’d like to play Newton about nine to 10 plays against the Bills. … Tyler Larsen will start at center against the Bills as the team slowly works center Ryan Kalil back into action. … Defensive end Julius Peppers still has not practiced with the team, although he has been cleared to return.
Brian Gutekunst knows his first 53-man roster as general manager of the Packers is a bit imbalanced. And, there still could be changes in advance of Green Bay's regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on Sept. 9.
But Gutekunst doesn't have an issue with having a whopping eight wide receivers on the team. Or, four tight ends and three quarterbacks 鈥?while having only two running backs and only four outside linebackers at the moment.
"It's a puzzle and there's 53 you can keep on the active roster and then you can keep (10) on the practice squad," Gutekunst said Sunday Womens Cam Newton Jersey , a day after he released 32 players, waived/injured three more and placed running back Aaron Jones on the reserve/suspended list.
"That's a little bit more the way we look at it," he added. "And as we were going through, we were just trying to keep the best 53 that would be available for this week's game. Again, it's a fluid situation that changes day by day."
Running back would appear to be the most fluid as the team kept only Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery, with Jones set to miss the first two games because of an NFL-imposed suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
The Packers did add Joel Bouagnon, who was cut Saturday after spending the offseason and training camp with the team, to the practice squad Sunday.
"That's maybe still in the works a little bit, but the two that we kept, we like," Gutekunst said. "Aaron going on suspension, that's not a great thing for us. That kind of put us in that spot. But that may be a little bit of an evolving position for us Authentic Marcus Mariota Jersey , as well.
"That's the thing about our roster right now, nothing's set in stone. It's still fluid and it will be all season. That's just kind of the way it is in the NFL."
Gutekunst also intimated that the Packers put in a handful of waiver claims but were not awarded any players. After their 7-9 finish a year ago, the Packers were 14th in waiver claim priority.
This marked the Packers' first roster cutdown since Gutekunst was elevated to GM in January after Ted Thompson, his predecessor and mentor, transitioned into an advisory role. Gutekunst had been in the Packers' scouting department for two decades, including the last six as one of Thompson's top lieutenants.
Meanwhile, Gutekunst refused to discuss specifics about the Packers' involvement in trade talks with Oakland for defensive end Khalil Mack, who went to the Packers' NFC North rivals, the Chicago Bears, in a deal Saturday. The Packers were reportedly among the teams to make an offer on Mack, but the Raiders ultimately accepted the Bears' offer, which included first-round picks in 2019 and 2020.
"A lot of discussions happen more than deals get done Authentic Ezekiel Elliott Jersey ," Gutekunst said. "My thought process is always winning. Does this help us win? And if it does, then we're going to pursue it and see if we can make it work. Again, I've talked about things being a puzzle and you have to make it fit. And you certainly don't want to put yourself in a bind going forward.
"But we're here to win now. I think as you go through that, it's really about that. Does this certain decision, this certain player, does it help you win? And if it does, then we'll attack that and see if we can make it work. (But) when you go through those things it's a two-way street. It has to work that way. That's kind of how I look at it."Authentic Womens Arden Key Jersey

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